We've all encountered lousy customer service somewhere. You can fight back. But you don't have to be a jerk about it.

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Steps

1

Determine if it's really worth bothering management over. Some problems may be trivial. Others may be serious.

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2

State the problem. Whether the takeout place always misspells your last name, even when you spell it to them on the phone, or a store clerk pretends you don't exist when you have a question, spit it out...calmly! The establishment may not be aware of the problem if you don't say something.

3

Always be nice about it. Remember the adage "you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar". Being rude to a manager will probably get you nowhere other than the canned response of "I'm sorry and I'll look into it."

4

Never make accusations. We all know the type...the customer who says something like "I watch 60 Minutes...I know you're out to screw the customers over"...nobody takes that person seriously.

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Tips

Corporate offices should only be contacted as a last resort for serious matters.

Most managers will at least pretend to take you seriously, even if they really don't. The more level-headed and rational you are when making your complaint, the more seriously you will be taken.

Remember that you're not trying to get someone fired, you're trying to get the problem behavior resolved. Never tell a manager you want someone fired. You'll sound unreasonable.

Warnings

Never commit or threaten physical harm or violence toward any store clerk or manager, especially if your complaint is at a United States Post Office. You can be sentenced to as much as 25 years in federal prison for even threatening harm to a postal clerk.

Don't lose your cool. There's an old saying in customer services that the first person to lose his/her temper loses the argument. If you can't get a satisfactory resolution, simply leave without making your purchases, and don't make a spectacle of it.

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